Eagle Mountain Mortgage Fraud Investigation Targets Mayoral Candidate
Get ready for a wide range of mortgage fraud reports as the Utah housing market begins its slowdown. The latest person to get entangled is Eagle Mountain mayoral candidate Richard Culbertson who is also a real estate agent…or was.
The Daily Herald has the scoop -
“Culbertson forged signatures, falsified loan papers and used a straw buyer in equity skimming scheme,” said state officials in a media statement. “According to the Division of Real Estate’s investigation, Culbertson admitted to using a ’straw buyer’ (i.e., using a false identity or the identity of another person) to purchase a home for his personal residence. He also admitted using a straw buyer to purchase other properties at artificially inflated values in order to obtain money in excess of the sales price and acquire cash at closing for his personal benefit.”
This investigation was conducted by the Utah Division of Real Estate which licenses mortgage brokers, appraisers and real estate agents. After their investigation, the case was turned over to local and Federal agencies.
Culbertson’s defense was simple -Culbertson went on to say he believed his real estate transactions were “completely legal and ethical at the time. Though I fully believe the origin of this investigation was politically motivated, I have cooperated fully with the investigators and provided them with complete information.”
Mr. Culbertson, what is legal and ethical about forging signatures? What is legal and ethical about misleading lenders with cash back at close through an undisclosed LLC? What is legal and ethical about misstating income on a loan application?
According to state officials, “in at least one transaction, Culbertson diverted proceeds from the purchase of the property to a Limited Liability Company (LLC) to conceal the true terms of the transaction from the lender. As part of this fraudulent equity skimming scheme, Culbertson falsified loan documents, including forging signatures and providing false income information.”
In addition to revoking Culbertson’s real estate license, the Division fined him $40,000. Culbertson is angry the Division released the results of the investigation publicly, but that is their policy for all disciplinary action.
Despite the results, Culbertson is insistent about running for Mayor of Eagle Mountain and is blaming the investigation as a political witch hunt.
“When I determined that I would run for mayor of Eagle Mountain several months ago, it was because I felt that my hometown had fallen into the hands of land speculators who were systematically taking away the unique features that made us want to make Eagle Mountain our hometown,” Culbertson said, reading his statement to the crowd before the debate. “We would hold developers to their promises and prevent land speculators from reaping huge windfall profits by getting the City Council to remove established use restrictions. From the moment we took that position, a massive effort was undertaken to destroy our credibility with the voters by operatives of the land speculators.
If the activities the Division found are true, Culbertson has much bigger problems to worry about. Prosecutors love to go after “big fish” and industry insiders who can do more damage than an “average Joe.”
The Division of Real Estate said they had referred Culbertson’s case to federal and state authorities for review. Culbertson said he had not been contacted by the county attorney’s office or by federal authorities, but believed he was now the subject of a county attorney investigation.
Mr. Culbertson has much bigger things to worry about than his campaign. He should withdraw now to save himself, his family and his business associates from further humiliation and scrutiny.